Easy Setup Windows Server Essentials 2012 R2

If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

• Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials: A Better Solution than you Thought (Part 1)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials: A Better Solution than you Thought (Part 3)

Introduction

Every IT pro who deals with Microsoft technologies is familiar with Windows Server, but many aren't aware of the Essentials edition, designed for small businesses. In this multi-part article, we're delving into the benefits and limitations of Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials and how it can be used to best advantage in some common small business scenarios. In Part 1, we laid the groundwork with a brief history of Small Business Server (SBS) and its evolution into WS Essentials, then we introduced some of the features of the R2 version.

Ease of deployment and use

Along with the low cost, this is the number one reason for small businesses to choose Windows Server Essentials instead of the Standard version of Windows Server. Extensive IT experience isn't necessary to learn to manage a network that's based on Essentials. That allows you to focus more on the core business and less on maintaining the IT infrastructure.

Deployment is designed to be easy. You can install Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials on a 1.3 GHz or faster processor with 2 GB of RAM (4 when installed in a virtual machine) although more realistic specs for a production machine would be a 3 GHz processor with 12-16 GB of RAM, but a small business can find desktop PCs with those specifications and above at very low prices today. Note that Essentials supports Windows 7 and 8/8.1 as well as Mac OS X 10.5 and above as clients (not XP or Vista).

Server Essentials installation will normally create an Active Directory domain. It can't be installed in a pre-existing Active Directory domain (though there is a 21 day migration period) and it must be the root domain controller for the domain and forest and be assigned all FSMO roles.

Note:
Although Windows Server Essentials itself cannot become part of an existing AD domain, you can install the Windows Server Essentials Experience server role in Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Datacenter edition to an existing AD domain environment. This can be confusing because some Microsoft documentation refers to this as Windows Server Essentials, rather than the "experience" role.

You can deploy Windows Server Essentials on a physical machine or in a virtual machine. You can also automate the installation of Essentials using PowerShell cmdlets.

After installation, you configure your Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials server using the dashboard interface, which is somewhat like a simplified version of Server Manager.

Figure 1

Here you can add roles and features, add other servers to manage, create server groups and access and perform common administrative tasks. Available server roles include:

• Active Directory Certificate services
• Active Directory Domain Services
• Active Directory Federation Services
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services
• Active Directory Rights Management Services
• Application Server
• DHCP Server
• DNS Server
• Fax Server
• File and Storage Services
• Hyper-V
• Network Policy and Access Services
• Print and Document Services
• Remote Access
• Remote Desktop Services
• Volume Activation Services
• Windows Deployment Services
• Windows Server Update Services

We'll look more closely at some of these later in this article series. By default, File and Storage Services, IIS web services and the Windows Server Essentials Experience roles are already installed.

You can also install features such as BitLocker Encryption and Network Unlock, NFS client, Failover Clustering, IPAM server, Network Load Balancing (NLB) and many more. Once you've selected the roles and features you want to install, the wizard installs them along with any services on which they're dependent.

Figure 2

All in all, it makes for a quick and easy experience.

Cloud integration

Cloud computing is increasingly becoming an important part of most organizations' IT strategies, but it's not an "all or nothing" proposition. Many companies don't feel comfortable putting everything into the cloud; sensitive data and mission-critical applications may be too important to entrust to a public cloud provider. That's why one of the most popular cloud models is the hybrid cloud.

A true hybrid cloud, however, can be complicated to implement and manage, and may be beyond the budgets of most small businesses. That doesn't mean those organizations can't still enjoy the convenience and cost savings of cloud computing and still have the security, privacy and control that a private cloud provides for more sensitive resources. In fact, that's exactly what Windows Server Essentials is designed to do.

A small business network based on Windows Server Essentials lets you run applications and store files on premises, while interoperating seamlessly with Microsoft's Office 365 cloud applications or hosted Exchange services and with Windows Azure Backup for secure off-premises storage of data. Properly implemented, it can provide the best of both worlds.

Remote access

With a few high-profile exceptions such as Yahoo, companies of all sizes are embracing the idea of telecommuting and remote access. Many studies have shown that employees who work part- or full-time from home tend to be happier in their jobs and more important, they work more hours and are more productive. The company also benefits from the cost savings of reduced office space needs and all the attendant expenses that go with maintaining a large on-premises workforce.

Many small businesses are able to operate successfully with no "bricks and mortar" offices at all. Everyone works out of his/her home or on the road, and the money that would have gone into rent, electricity, property taxes, etc. can be put back into the business in more profitable ways or used to increase salaries and attract the best and most talented employees.

Supporting remote workers requires the ability to access shared files that employees need to collaborate on projects. Even if you don't have telecommuters, it's likely that high level members of the organization take work home and/or work while traveling and need access to the files and applications on the company servers when they do. Admins need to be able to manage the network even when they aren't on premises. A remote access solution is essential for pretty much all businesses today.

Deploying remote access servers can be a complicated process, but Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials simplifies the process with Remote Web Access (RWA) and the My Server app for Windows and Windows Phone. RWA makes things easier both for the IT admin and for the small business users. There is no necessity to set up a separate VPN server, and remote workers don't have to configure VPN client software on their computers. Instead, they can log on to a web-based interface using almost any device – PC, laptop, tablet, or smart phone.

The My Server app is a touch-friendly interface for performing some administrative tasks. One version runs on Windows 8/8.1 and RT, on desktops, laptops and tablets. It's easily downloaded and installed from the Windows Store.

Figure 3

My Server can be used to manage alerts on the server, view details and manage (stop and start) connected devices, change users' passwords, use RDP to connect to computers, and upload and download shared files. Recently accessed files (7 days) are available offline (you can change this caching period). Some of these tasks require administrative access. Note that you'll need to install a certificate in order to connect. You'll find detailed instructions here.

There is also a Windows Phone app for those using Windows Phone 8 mobile devices. Unfortunately, there isn't (yet) a version for the many, many Android and iPhone devices that are carried by a large proportion of users and admins. However, current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella seems to be operating from a new platform-inclusive philosophy, as demonstrated by Microsoft's release of Office 365 for iOS and Nadella's recent declaration of love for Linux. It's not inconceivable, then, that Microsoft might eventually release a version of My Server for other mobile operating systems.

Data protection

Business continuity and disaster recovery is just as important for small businesses as for enterprises – perhaps even more so, since many small businesses are operating on a much thinner margin. Yet many of them don't have good backup systems either because of the cost or because it's too much trouble to maintain.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials lets you configure server backups with a simple wizard interface. You can back up both the server and client computers. Clients are backed up to the server, and the server data is backed up to an external USB hard drive. Optionally, you can back up your data to Windows Azure Backup.

You can set the schedule to back up once a day or multiple times throughout the day, and you can use multiple external drives. You can choose which files, folders or entire drives to back up (by default, all OS files and folders are backed up; you'll need to add data drives, and you can remove the system files from backup if you wish). You can remotely manage your backups using the Remote Web Access interface to access the Dashboard.

Note:
Be aware that when you run the Set Up Server Backup Wizard and select a drive to which you want to back up, it will be formatted and all data deleted. Also note that you can't use a drive that has an EFI system partition.

Summary

In this, Part 2 of our discussion of Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials and how it can be a cost effective solution for small businesses, we took a look at some of its key features, including ease of use, cloud integration, remote access, and data protection. Next time, in Part 3, we'll continue to examine features and functionality before addressing specific small business scenarios.

If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

• Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials: A Better Solution than you Thought (Part 1)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials: A Better Solution than you Thought (Part 3)

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Source: https://techgenix.com/windows-server-2012-r2-essentials-better-solution-you-thought-part2/

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